noun
Refers to a man-made waterway, often narrower than a river, used for transportation, irrigation, or drainage. Common in place names.
この堀江は江戸時代に造られました。
This canal was built in the Edo period.
堀江沿いを散歩するのが好きです。
I like walking along the canal.
運河 is a broader term for a canal, often larger and used for shipping. 堀江 is more specific to smaller, often historical canals, and frequently appears in proper nouns.
Compound of 堀 (hori, 'ditch, moat') and 江 (e, 'inlet, bay'). The reading ほりえ is a straightforward combination of the kun'yomi of both characters.